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Moving boldly into the future
T
he future has arrived. This is my conclusion after a whirlwind
month of visits to the EWI open house in Columbus, Ohio,
the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS) at
Ohio State, the Zwick testXpo in Germany, and MS&T'13 in
Montreal. Seeing firsthand what different people are working on
is truly inspiring, and hearing what they're excited about is even
more interesting.
Beyond EWI's million-dollar 3D printer making intricate titanium
parts, most impressive is their new SpotSight tool. It uses a handheld ultrasonic
probe to evaluate the effectiveness of component joints by visualizing weld images
with realtime feedback. Originally built to test spot welds on cars, the tool eliminates
the need for destructive testing and is also 10 times faster. A few blocks away at Ohio
State, the stunning CEMAS lab is arguably the best microscopy lab in the world, due
its ability to work across multiple length scales and a pristine lab space that offers a
perfect environment for its highly advanced instruments. Who knew what an old
mattress factory could be turned into?
In Germany, the most amazing aspect of Zwick's testXpo was the robotic technology,
featured in this month's cover story. Watching beautiful KUKA robots efficiently
process metal samples through a variety of testing machines was both awe-inspiring
and disturbing. With China on track to install 100,000 new robots by 2015, and Zwick
building a facility there to meet local testing needs, automation is clearly forging
ahead. But I worry about the toll on human employment as these robots work 24/7 in
cold, dark warehouses with no need for bathroom breaks or health insurance.
At MS&T'13 in Montreal, attendees were treated to lectures, technical sessions, an
exhibition, and most fun, a gala celebration of ASM's 100th anniversary and the
annual ASM Awards Dinner. The MS&T Plenary Session kicked off the week in a
spectacular way. Boeing's Kevin Bowcutt gave a riveting talk on hypersonic flight,
including a May 1 video of the X-51A scramjet flying at Mach 5.1 for 210 seconds.
Although test jets are lost to the ocean, Bowcutt says a retrievable scramjet is on its
way. John Sarrao of Los Alamos spoke about new concepts for controlling materials
in extreme environments, which he referred to as "mesoscale science—beyond
atomic, molecular, and nano." He said theory and simulation need to connect models
across scales and incorporate emergent phenomena to realize functionality by
design. Tresa Pollock then gave a fascinating lecture on advanced materials in turbine
engines and propulsion environments.
Another lively event was the ASM Alpha Sigma Mu lecture by David Williams of Ohio
State. He pointed out the absurdity of capturing data-rich images with multimilliondollar electron microscopes and then displaying those images on $200 monitors. He
says we should be using infinitely better monitors, and also cautioned that no matter
how expensive the microscope, if samples are not carefully prepared, it won't matter.
On a human level, Williams emphasized the need to surround oneself with smart
people and give them credit, and to always thank the people working around you. As
a final note, he recognized the unpredictable nature of career opportunities and life
itself and sagely advised, "When doors open, walk through them."
frances.richards@asminternational.org
2
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2013
Frances Richards, Senior Editor
frances.richards@asminternational.org
Julie Kalista, Editor
julie.kalista@asminternational.org
Barbara L. Brody, Art Director
Joanne Miller, Production Manager;
Editor, ASM News
joanne.miller@asminternational.org
Press Release Editor
magazines@asminternational.org
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Mario Epler, Chair, Carpenter Technology Corp.
Yu-Ping Yang, Vice Chair, Edison Welding Institute
Ellen Cerreta, Past Chair, Los Alamos National Lab
William Lenling, Board Liaison
Laura Addessio, PCC Structurals Inc.
Arvind Agarwal, Florida International University
Gerald Bruck, Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp.
Steven Claves, Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corp.
Adam Farrow, Los Alamos National Lab
Jacob Goldsmith, University of Michigan
Nia Harrison, Ford Motor Co.
Alan Luo, The Ohio State University
Roger Narayan, UNC-NCSU
Scott Olig, Vision Point Systems
Nina Pang, Boston University
Somuri Prasad, Sandia National Lab
Fei Ren, Oak Ridge National Lab
Michael Rigsbee, North Carolina State University
Kumar Sridharan, University of Wisconsin
Jaimie Tiley, U.S. Air Force Research Lab
Cong Wang, Saint-Gobain High Performance
Materials
ASM BOARD OF TRUSTEES
C. Ravi Ravindran, President
Sunniva R. Collins, Vice President
Robert J. Fulton, Treasurer
Gernant E. Maurer, Immediate Past President
Jeffrey A. Hawk
William J. Lenling
Linda S. Schadler
Iver Anderson
Mitchell Dorfman
James C. Foley
Jacqueline M. Earle
John R. Keough
Zi-Kui Liu
Thomas S. Passek, Secretary and Managing
Director
STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS
Jessica Booth, Karly Chester, Raymond Hickey
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